Welcome to interLOST, the blog dedicated to everything related to the TV show LOST. Here you’ll find news, episode previews and reviews, a few teasers, and a whole lot of passion for the best show on TV today!

Happy LOST day! That’s the last time I can say that this year (isn’t that depressing?), so I thought I’d make sure I did so. In reality though, I don’t have much to add on to the challenge from 2 weeks ago. None of the questions we thought might get answered did, so you have to feel as though tonight’s show is going to be just jam-packed with revelation after revelation. I’m not even going to mess around. Here are the questions we expect to have answered tonight. Please give me your thoughts on any or all of them below!

1. Who is in the coffin?

2. Who dies tonight, and how?

3. What is the nature of the Orchid station?

4. Is Locke successful in moving the island, and if so, to where? (Or to when?)

5. How do the Oceanic 6 actually leave the island? Is it via the freighter, or by some other means?

6. What happens to the survivors of Flight 815 that are not part of the Oceanic 6?

7. What happens in the secret “Frozen Donkey Wheel” scene?

Enjoy the episode tonight folks! It’s the last one until late January 2009!

Last year at this time, everyone was getting ready to be amazed by LOST’s “game-changing” Season 3 finale. The episode was about to introduce a form of storytelling completely new to LOST: the flashFORWARD. Everyone would be watching along, thinking that it was a flashback, but then BOOM, you’d find out in the last scene that it was a flashfoward, and the shock would hit you like a snake in the mailbox. Everyone, that is, except those that had been spoiled…like me.

In order to write relevant items for this blog (and prior to that, to folks at the office), I do a bit of research around the net. Not a ton, mind you, but enough to get some teasers of info that I can share with you and try to develop a discussion. Last year, however, someone with info about the flashforward went into a forum I frequent, and posted the “snake in the mailbox” scene smack-dab in the middle of it, with no alerts, no warnings…no concern for any of us that would much rather see the action unfold new on the screen as opposed to reading it first.

Of course, as the Season 4 finale approaches, the same fellow has the same information to disseminate across the internet. How the folks at ABC haven’t caught this tool and fired him is beyond me, but I guess that’s a story for another day. Anyway, lostpedia has a little discussion going on about it (you can check it out here: http://blog.lostpedia.com/2008/05/what-do-you-think-of-spoilers.html), but I’d be very careful about checking it out…you never know who might post the Season 4 finale spoilers there.

In any event, since there’s no Challenge of the Week this week (since the finale is next Thursday), I thought I’d open up the discussion. Do you like spoilers? Do you want to be spoiled at all? How much is too much? Also, if you’ve been spoiled, has it detracted from your enjoyment of the show? I’d love to hear what everyone has to say about this topic.

Well, not a lot of scoring this week, which matches the feeling I got from the episode. Really, nothing amazingly “new” happened, which explains why there was so little to change on the scoreboard. That being said, let’s take a look at how Week 12 turned out:

Congrats to Dede, who once again led the group in scoring! Of course, as you might imagine, that means that there was little movement at the top of the rankings. Here are how things shape up going into the final episode of the season (click on the thumbnail for the full standings):

Really, it looks like it’s down to Dede, Bill, and Paul. Of course, with a 2-hour finale, and the possibility of a shocking death, it’s not impossible for anyone in the Top 10 to pull an upset and jump to the #1 position. Good luck to everyone in lucky Week 13!

OK, so how to say this the right way? I know that the writers needed to get everything set up just right for the 2-hour final on 5/29, but…I was not thrilled with this episode. Not so much because things didn’t happen, but probably more because the things that did happen were not overly surprising, and from where I sit, there was not a ton to decipher with respect to answering old questions or asking new ones. That being said, let’s review what passed on the screen:

There’s No Place Like Home

Obviously, the reference to The Wizard of Oz is not even a veiled one. But it’s also a nod to just how wonderful everything is for (most of) the survivors as they return to the mainland. Hurley’s going back to his mansion and parents, Sun’s got her dad and a company takeover coming, Jack and Kate have each other, Sayid finally hooks up with Nadia, and Aaron has someone to look after him…even if it’s not his real mom. Of course, the group’s happiness (real or imagined) doesn’t last for long.

“We are in shock Jack”

For six people that have spent 100 days desperately trying to get off an island, it’s amazing how thoroughly downtrodden this group is. And it’s not a matter of being subdued, or holding back. They are still stunned regarding the events that led up to this moment, a emotion so strong that it fully overrides the fact that they are where they’ve wanted to be since they stepped on Flight 815 all those months ago.

“Didn’t you just do the whole run through the jungle with the walkie plan?”

The argument between Sawyer and Jack early in the episode was one of the highlights of the show this week. They know each other extremely well now, and with the stakes as high as they are now, it’s no time for pleasantries. Interesting that Jack ends up winning out, and Sawyer tags along.

Sun takes over Paik Industries?

With the Oceanic 6 settlement? Really? There seems to be more going on here, but for now, we’ll roll with it. Could this be a set-up for Sun spear-heading the return to the island in the future? We’ll have to wait and see. But what be an even more interesting question is, who is the other person Sun thinks is responsible for Jin’s death?

Hurley hears the whispers off-island?

Or was that just the people from his surprise party? And what’s with him saying, “Why am I doing this?” repeatedly? He’s clearly not comfortable being away from the island, even at an early stage. And when he checks the odometer, the deal is sealed. He’s still haunted by the numbers, and he’s clearly the first one that’s ready to try to get back.

Jack finds out that he’s Aaron’s uncle

Seems a bit anti-climactic, as we had a pretty good idea that future Jack already knew this info. Part of me was hoping that Christian himself would do the big reveal, and not Claire’s mom, but the important part is that it happened. But why does that make Jack not want to care for Aaron? Is it guilt based upon him leaving Claire behind, or something else? Hopefully we’ll learn more in the finale.

Got a little C4 handy?

As if it weren’t enough that Michael brought his own bomb on board, Keamy and his buddies left a mountain’s worth behind for the survivors to worry about. Anyone still the the Oceanic 6 are going to use that freighter to get home?

Richard and the Others reappear

It wouldn’t be a finale if we didn’t see Richard return with his group of Others. Any scene with Richard is a compelling one right now. I love what they’ve done with character.

And away we go!

While the episode itself didn’t feel very epic to me, when it closed with Ben getting knocked out, it felt like the table had been set. I feel like we’re ready for all of the grand events that the finale has in store for us.

POST-EPISODE QUESTIONS

Who is the other person responsible for Jin’s death?

The fact that I’m not sure that I believe Sun’s speech notwithstanding, who could she be talking about? I guessing that this may be a question that will inger with us even after the finale.

What happens to those who are not the Oceanic 6?

We have an idea of their fate…what about everyone else? The faces of the Oceanic 6 on the flight to Hawaii leads you to believe that it’s not good.

Who is going to bite it in the finale?

You have to believe that with all of the danger all around, that someone isn’t going to make it out alive. Will Jin truly die before Sun heads home? Will Claire continue to be safe with Christian at Jacob’s shack? Is it time for Michael to redeem himself, sacrificing his life for everyone else?

I’m sure that the finale will be explosive! It’ll be tough to wait 2 weeks for it!

Here we are, part one of the 3-part finale! It’s an exciting time to be a LOST fan, as the absolutely brilliance of Season 4 promises to end with a crescendo.

There are a lot of different ways to go with the challenge this week, as many questions are promised to be revealed, and major events are supposed to occur. And instead of sending you off to other sites for spoilers and/or discussion topics from other writers, I’m inclined to keep you right here this week. I’ve got a couple of topics that I think will keep you occupied.

First, let me just say that even though I’m still getting a great deal of hits from searches on The Frozen Donkey Wheel, I’m going to save that discussion for the challenge prior to the next episode. We know we’re not going to see it tonight, so despite the anticipation, let’s get to that later. If you didn’t get to read my prediction back in March, or want a refresher of what I think it will be, you can go here: https://interlost.wordpress.com/2008/03/28/the-frozen-donkey-wheel-revisited/

Instead, let’s talk about 2 other things this week, both of which are key points for the finale, and both of which we may or may not be privy to tonight. First, let’s talk about the obvious: The Oceanic 6. All season long we’ve heard about their story in flashforwards, but we still don’t know how they got home. The finale’s title makes it seem like we might get something off-the-wall like clicking their heels as the way that they’ll get home, but I want to hear from you! The first part of this week’s challenge is this:

How do the Oceanic 6 actually get off the island?

Hopefully we’ll see that tonight, but my guess is taht we’ll have to wait until the 29th to know for sure. The next item, however, would make for a great mini-cliffhanger to bridge the wait between tonight’s part 1 and the 2-hour conclusion on 5/29. And that is, who the heck is in the coffin? Did you forget about that from last season’s finale? I hope not, as the writers have promised to answer that question in this year’s finale. That haven’t exactly given us a ton of clues about it, but the answer is coming, so it’s time to make your guesses in earnest. I have my own theory, but again, the challenge of the week is about your guess. Again, the second question of this week’s challenge is:

We continue our re-watch of the series of LOST, leading up to the Season 5 premiere in January 2009…

Re-watching “White Rabbit” after a couple of years was quite a treat, especially after having just seen the Season 4 episode “Something Nice Back Home”. It dovetails nicely, with Jack, Christian Shepard, and the island all interacting in strange ways.

The first thing that I noticed in this episode was the start of multiple concurrent plot threads. In White Rabbit, Jack chases his dad into the jungle, the last of the remaining fresh water gets stolen, and Claire passes out. They’re actually all part of the same over-arching theme or plot thread of the episode, but it’s played out in such a way that it doesn’t all come together until the end.

Speaking of the end, this episode marks the first time we hear the “Live Together, Die Alone” speech from Jack. I think we hear it again, what, thirty more times before the end of the season? (That’s a joke, folks.) Seriously, it shows the reluctance of Jack to become the leader of the survivors, which can explain why it’s so easy for him to give it up at times throughout the series.

But this episode was the first in which we have a question that is yet unanswered (other than what the heck is the smoke monster). It involves Christian Shepard, and it’s probably not the first question about him that popped into your mind. After all, the obvious question about Christian is, “How the heck did he get on the island?” But while that question has still not been answered definitively by the show, I think Christian himself (to borrow from “Cabin Fever”) would say something like, “Why don’t you ask the one question worth asking?” And for me, that would be, “Why did he lead Jack to the caves?” Or perhaps, “How did he know that he needed to lead Jack to the caves?” There certainly seems to be some pre-cognitive abilities here, as Christian knew that the survivors would run out of water, and that they needed the caves (at least temporarily) to survive. I think answering that question would probably tell us a whole lot more about what’s going on with the island. When questions about Christian’s appearance on and off the island, and in Jacob’s cabin become more clear, it’ll be interesting to go back to this episode and see how his behavior fits in.

That’s about it for the recap on this episode. Overall, another fun trip back to Season 1, especially with the events currently happening in Season 4.

The LOST Fantasy League results for Week 11 are in! There was a little bit of moving around this week, but not much changed at the top of the standings. The biggest happening of the week is that Locke finally scored some points! All of you that have him were probably wondering if he’d ever do any scoring this season, and now you have your answer. With 250 points this week, Locke now has the highest scoring week of the season. That’s almost four times what anyone else scored this week! So, let’s check how that impacted player scoring for the week:

The reality of it though, is that it’s probably too little too late for the Locke owners. Let’s see how our overall standings look through 11 weeks:

I usually reserve this space to comment on how likely it is for anyone to win. But we all know how finales go on this show, and that is that no one knows how they’re going to turn out! Good luck to each of you in the final 2 episodes of the season!